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25% of hauliers 'in danger of colla se'
Page 8
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• by Guy Sheppard More than one haulier In four is in danger of going under because of over-capacity within the industry, according to financial analysts.
Plimsoll Publishing researched the performance of the country's 2,000 biggest hauliers and gave a 'danger rating to 586 of them because of their high debts and nonexistent profits.
The research, which is based on publicly available information from Companies House in Cardiff, rates the performance of 543 hauliers as 'strong' because their pre-tax profits average at least 6% and debts average 4% of sales.
Other companies are rated as either 'good', 'mediocre' or 'in need of caution'.
Plimsoll senior analyst David Pattison says: "I believe the road haulage industry has too many companies chasing too little market."
The 'danger' rating is only given to companies which have performed poorly for at least two years. Plimsoll discovered that of 113 recent failures in haulage, 82% had been in either its 'caution' or 'danger categories' during the previous two years.
Pattison says there is no clear distinguishing feature about strong companies. "It has almost nothing to do with what they make or sell or do," he explains, "it's how they do it."
He adds that all the companies analysed have turnovers of at least Elm and the proportion of them receiving a 'danger' rating has increased slightly since a similar survey was published last year.
But he says haulage Is generally no worse than other sectors which are highly capital intensive—it is far healthier than football, where 98% of clubs receive a `danger' rating.
• Plimsolls Road Haulage Analysis, which names all the companies researched, costs .2305 and is available direct from the company.
Contact: 01642 626400.